The United States Battle Fleet or Battle Force was part of the organization of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

from 1922 to 1941. The General Order of 6 December 1922 organized the

United States Fleet The United States Fleet was an organization in the United States Navy from 1922 until after World War II. The acronym CINCUS, pronounced "sink us", was used for Commander in Chief, United States Fleet. This was replaced by COMINCH in December 1941 ...

, with the Battle Fleet as the Pacific presence. This fleet comprised the main body of ships in the Navy, with the smaller

Scouting Fleet The Scouting Fleet was created in 1922 as part of a major, post-World War I reorganization of the United States Navy. The Atlantic and Pacific fleets, which comprised a significant portion of the ships in the United States Navy, were combined into ...

as the Atlantic presence. The

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

s, including most of the modern ones, and new

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

s were assigned to the Battle Fleet.

Organization

On September 1, 1923, the Battle Fleet was under the command of Admiral

Samuel S. Robison Admiral Samuel Shelburne Robison CB, USN (May 10, 1867 – November 20, 1952) was a United States Navy officer whose service extended from the 1890s through the early 1930s. He held several major commands during World War I, and from 1928 to 193 ...

. Battleships, Battle Fleet was under the command of Vice Admiral

Henry A. Wiley Admiral Henry Ariosto Wiley (31 January 1867 – 20 May 1943) was an officer in the United States Navy during the Spanish–American War, World War I, and World War II. Biography Born in Pike County, Alabama, Wiley graduated from the United States ...

, with his flag aboard . Battleship Division Three, under Rear Admiral

Louis M. Nulton Louis McCoy Nulton (August 8, 1869 – November 10, 1954) was a four-star admiral in the United States Navy who was List of Superintendents of the United States Naval Academy, superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy from 1925 to 1928 and command ...

, consisted of (F), under Captain A. M. Proctor, under Captain W. F. Scott, and under Captain H. H. Christy, which was also the Battle Fleet

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

. Battleship Division Four, under Rear Admiral William Veazie Pratt, comprised (F), under Captain J. R. Y. Blakely, , , and . Battleship Division Five under Vice Admiral Wiley himself comprised , , , and . Aircraft Squadrons, Battle Fleet, under Captain A. W. Marshall, comprised (F), , and the tender . Destroyer Squadrons, Battle Fleet, under Rear Admiral Sumner E. W. Kittelle, comprised

Destroyer Squadron 11 A destroyer squadron is a naval squadron or flotilla usually consisting of destroyers rather than other types of vessel. In some navies other vessels, such as frigates, may be included. In English the word "squadron" tends to be used for larger ...

and

Destroyer Squadron 12 In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

. Submarine Divisions, Pacific, was under Captain A. Bronson, Jr. In 1930, the name of the fleet was changed to "Battle Force", but the structure remained the same. In 1931, the force was based in Pearl Harbor and consisted of a majority of the United States' surface fleet: all of the newer battleships, all of the carriers, a light cruiser squadron and "three or four" destroyer squadrons were all a part of the Battle Force. In 1939, the Battle Force had five aircraft carriers, 12 battleships, 14

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

s, and 68

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s.Morison, 28. On 1 February 1941, General Order 143 reorganized the United States Fleet with three separate fleets, the

United States Atlantic Fleet United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

, the

United States Pacific Fleet The United States Pacific Fleet (USPACFLT) is a theater-level component command of the United States Navy, located in the Pacific Ocean. It provides naval forces to the Indo-Pacific Command. Fleet headquarters is at Joint Base Pearl Harbor� ...

and the

Asiatic Fleet The United States Asiatic Fleet was a fleet of the United States Navy during much of the first half of the 20th century. Before World War II, the fleet patrolled the Philippine Islands. Much of the fleet was destroyed by the Japanese by Februar ...

Commander in Chief, Battle Fleet (COMBATFLT)

Commander Battle Force (COMBATFOR)

References

Bibliography

*{{cite book, author=Morison, Samuel Eliot , title=Volume III, The Rising Sun in the Pacific , publisher=Little, Brown and Company , location=Boston and Toronto , year=1948 , id= Fleets of the United States Navy